Curtain-guide.



H, E. WEEKES.

CURTAIN GUIDE,

APPucAT'loN FILED suLY l1. |918.

1,287,539., Patented Dec. 10, 1918.

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Y HENRY E. wEEKEs, or VALLEJO, cALIroRNIA.

CURTAIN-GUIDE.

Application filed July 11, 1918. Serial N o. 244,405;

T all whom it may concern: y

Be it known that I, HENRY E. VVEExEs, a citizen of the United States, residing'at Vallejo, in the county of Solano, State of California, have invented anew and useful Curtain-Guide; and I do hereby declare the'foln lowing to be a full, clear, and exactdescri tion of the invention, suchas will enab e others skilled inthe art to'which it appertains to make and usethe same.

A The present invention relates to a-sliding doorfor tents andcanopies, the invention beingl adapted to be employed wherevera door controlled opening is desired in a flexible or fabric wallV for any purpose whatever, such as for passage, light or ventilation.V p

vAmong the objectsof the'invention is to i provide a flexible sliding closure-or door which can be easily moved'into a closed,open orpartially open position, which willnot pull away fromor become separated vfrom the edges of the'door opening in the fabric wall, which is simpleand inexpensive inits construction which' effectively closes the dooropening when moved into auclosed position, and doesnot in any way linterfere with the makingup of tent or other material as there are no; rods or barsto'break or bend. y With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certain novel combinations and r`arrangements .of theparts as will more fully appear as the descriptionv proceeds, the novel V'features vthereof being pointed out inthe appended claims.l

For a full understanding of the invention, referenceis to be, had to the following description and accompanying drawings, `in

which `Figure l 'isa front elevation of a portion of a fabric wall provided with a vertically movable sliding door constructed in accordance with the invention, the door being shown by full lines in a closed position and by dotted lines in a partially open position. Fig. 2'is an enlarged side elevation of one p ofthe guide members for the sliding door or curtain. Y Fig. 8 is a longitudinal Ysectional Vview taken on the-line 3 3 of Fig.V 2Q p Fig. 4 is an enlarged side elevation of one of the guide members, showing a slightmodiy oation'. i v

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional-view onV the line 5-5 of Fig. 4. f, .f

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description andfindi cated in allthe views of the drawings bythe same reference characters. A

YReferring to the drawings, `which illustrate one possible embodiment of the invention, the numeral l designates a portion of a .Y canvas or fabric wall which may be a'partlof a tent, canopy or other inclosure. .This wall is provided with a vertical door opening which has parallel sideedges 2.5 A flexible closure 3 is provided Aforthe door opening, ,said closure being integral with or joinedto the canvas, wall l Vat the top of the door opening, and ybeing of such a width and length as to closek the door opening when it is pulled downwardly and drawn taut, as indicated by full lineson Fig.;l.

The edges of the door opening are returned and stitched at 4, thereby providing longitudinal pockets ,5 which extend the full length'of the door opening and loosely receive spherical balls 6'. r Ther edges of the Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Dec. 10, 1918.

door y3 have similar and'complemental plates 7 itted against opposite sides thereof at suitable intervals, each pair of the plates constitutinga'guidemember and thefends of the plates projecting beyond thel edgesk ofthe door so as to receive the adjacent edge 2 of the door opening vbetweenthe same. kThe edges of the flexible.door?) may be returned 'at 3a to Vreinforce the same, andthe plates 7 are 'secured to the edges'of the door in any suitable manner as by means of theyfastening membersv 8@ The;projecting ends of the 'i Vplates 7 are provided in the inner' facesthereof with complemental recesses or'depressions 9 which form Aa socket ofa suitable size to receive one of the spherical ballsl 6, this being indicated quite clearly by Fig, 3. lEach pairV of the plates? thus provides a guideV member which engages one of the balls 6, and it will be remembered that these halls are confined withinthe longitudinal pockets 5 at the edges of the door opening so vthat 'they are free to move longitudinally ofthe door opening, but are held against movement in any vother direction. The fabric walls of the pockets 'are interposed between the spherical'balls 6rand the innerv faces of n the curtain or door to pull away from the.

edges of the door opening, although the guide members formed by the plates' 7 are movable longitudinally of the door opening and can be slipped back and forth in the necessary manner to open and close the door. This provides a very simple and effective sliding door closure for a tent, canopy, or yfabric wall of any kind, andwhile the door can be easilyand quickly opened, the edges thereof are held Securely to the edges of the door opening so thatv they cannoty pull away therefrom, and an effective closure is lprovidedw-hen the door is closed;

A slight modification is illustrated by Figs. 4: and 5, in ywhich the balls 6 are con# `fined within pockets 5 provided between the two lines of stitching 5, an edge portion lc being provided at the side of the door opening` on theoutside of the outer line of stitching 4"'. The fiexible door or closure 3 is of such a width that the edge portion thereof overlaps the edge portion lc of the ,door opening, thereby preventingthe edges of the fabric from `gaping orpulling apart `when the door is closed. The plates 7c of the guide member are Ysecured by rivets 8 to oppositesides of the edge of the door 3, the projecting ends of the plates receiving the side of the door opening between the same and being formed with the recesses or depressions .9 whichV receive and interlock with the ball 6, exactly as inthe previous instance. Gne of the plates 7, however, is

Lcrimped at l0 to receive the edge portion of the door 3 whicheverlaps the edge portion lc of the' door opening, the latter being received between the projectingends of the plates, as indicated quite clearly by Fig. 5. With this construction they door can ybe opened and closed without difficulty, the ball 6 sliding longitudinally in the pockets 5 as the door is manipulated, and the balls and guide members cooperating with' each yother to prevent the door from pulling away from the sides of the door opening.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. The combination` with a fabric` wall 4having an opening therein, and a flexible closure for the opening, anV edge of the opening being provided with a longitudinally extending pocket, of a ball loose in the pocket, and a guide member applied to the closure and formed with spaced arms slidably receiving the edge of the opening and engaging the ball in the pocket;

2. The combination with a fabric wall having an opening therein, a fiexible closure for the opening, an edge of the opening ybeing formed with a longitudinal pocket, of a ball loose in the pocket, and a guide member applied to the closure and formed with spaced arms receiving the edge of the opening and constructedto form a socket which loosely interlocks with the ball.

3. They combination with aV `fabric wall having an opening therein, and a flexible closure for the' opening, an edge of the opening being formed with a longitudinal pocket,v ofaball loose inthe pocket, and a-guide member applied to the closure andfformed with spaced plates projecting from the edge thereof and receiving the edge of the opening, said plates being constructed to provide fa socket whichloosely receives the ball.

'4. The combination with a fabricv wall `having an opening therein, and la flexible closure for the opening, the edges of the vopening being folded rearwardly and fastened to provide longitudinally extending pockets, ballsv loose within the pockets, and guide members applied to the flexibleI clos'- ure and formed with spaced plates which project from opposite edges thereof and yclosure for the opening,y the edges of the `opening being folded rearwardly and fastened to provide longitudinal pockets, f of balls loose in the pockets, and complemental plates applied yto the flexible closure at opposite edges thereof, the ends of the plates extending beyond `the closure andreceiving the respective edges of the opening between the same, said projecting ends of the plates ,being formed with, corresponding depressions which loosely receive the before 'meh'- tionedballs. 1 f

6. The combination with a fabric wall. A

having an opening therein, a flexible closure for ythe opening, an edge of the opening being formed with a longitudinal pocketl and being overlapped by the adjacent edgeof.

the flexible closure, a ball loose in the pocket, and a guide member applied to the closure and formed of spaced arms receiving the edge of the opening and constructed to form a socket which loosely interlocks with the ball, one 'of said arms being formed Lwith a crimped portion receiving an overlapping edge of the fabric. f

7 rlhe combination with a. fabric wall having an opening therein, a flexible closure u for the opening, an edge portion of the opening being formed with a longitudinal pocket and the flexible closure overlapping 1,287,539 Y f8 e the said edge portion of the opening, of a. with a crimped portion receiving en over- A10 ball loose in the pocket, and spaced plates lapping edge of the fabric. applied to opposite sides of the flexible In testimony whereof I have signed'my closure and projecting from the edge therename to this specification in the presence of of, the projecting portions of the plates re,- tWo subscribing Witnesses.

ceiving the edge of the opening and being `HENRY E. WEEKES.

'formed with complementari recesses providy Witnesses: 111g a. socket which loosely interlocks with J. J. BRESNAN, the ball, one of said plates beingprovided p ELLEN F. BRESNAN. f

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five Vcents, each, by addressing the0ommissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. C. 

